As families across Mecklenburg County mark the start of another school year, Charlotte Family Housing is celebrating how our community came together to support the 174 students in our program!
Supporting students during the back-to-school season is one way we hope to make a strategic, generational impact on families, as new research continues to validate what we’ve long known: stable housing is a significant factor in student success.
The Growing Challenge of Student Homelessness
The numbers tell a worrying story. During the 2024-2025 school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools identified 5,680 students experiencing homelessness—an 18% increase from the previous year’s 4,815 students. This dramatic rise reveals how Charlotte’s broader housing crisis is impacting families with children across our community.¹
What makes Charlotte’s situation particularly sobering is how these students are housed. While nationally, 75% of homeless students live “doubled up” with family or friends, our local data from 2023-2024 paints a slightly different picture:¹
- 69% of students lived doubled up with other families
- 20% lived in hotels or motels (more than twice the national rate of 9%)
- 10% lived in shelters or transitional housing
- 1% lived completely unsheltered
The higher rate of students living in hotels and motels highlights an insufficient shelter capacity for families with children in our city.¹ Our two transitional family shelters, with capacity for up to 21 families, represent some of the only options for families to live in shelter together in Charlotte.
The Students Most Affected
Locally, the impact of homelessness disproportionately affects students of color. 75% percent of students experiencing homelessness in Charlotte identify as Black or African American—three times the national rate of 26%. Hispanic/Latino students represent 16% of those affected, while 4% identify as White.¹
These disparities underscore the intersection of housing instability and the systemic inequities that have long plagued our community. Acknowledging these broader patterns help inform how we work to create solutions that reach those most in need.
The Real Impact on Students
Student homelessness disrupts far more than just where a child sleeps. The impacts ripple through every aspect of their lives:
Physical Health: Limited access to healthcare, hygiene facilities, and nutritious meals increases the risk of illness and developmental delays.
Mental and Emotional Well-being: Housing instability can lead to feelings of shame, social isolation, anxiety, and depression that follow children long into adulthood.
Academic Performance: Frequent moves result in attendance challenges, leading to poor test performance and lower academic achievement.
Future Prospects: Students experiencing homelessness face increased risk of dropping out, which can impact future employment opportunities, wages, and economic stability.
Research Reinforces the Power of Stable Housing
New research from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute provides compelling evidence for what Charlotte Family Housing has witnessed firsthand: stable housing improves educational outcomes for children.²
The study, conducted in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region, compared students whose families achieved homeownership through Habitat with a representative sample of McKinney-Vento students experiencing housing instability. The results were encouraging:
Better Attendance: Habitat students averaged only 9.4 days absent compared to 17.5 days for their McKinney-Vento peers.²
Fewer Suspensions: Students in stable housing were significantly less likely to face suspension, particularly in their first two years of housing stability.²
Higher Academic Achievement: The longer students remained in stable housing, the more likely they were to achieve proficiency in reading and math. By the fourth year, Habitat students had a 55% likelihood of achieving math proficiency compared to less than 40% for students experiencing housing instability.²
These findings validate what we see daily in our work: when families experience housing stability, children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Community Support in Action
This back-to-school season exemplified the power of community collaboration as we watched our supporters and partners rally around the 174 students in our program by:
- Providing Essential Supplies: Every student received a backpack filled with school supplies and a new water bottle, ensuring they arrived at school prepared and confident.
- Supporting Uniform Needs: Generous donors provided gift cards enabling families to purchase required school uniforms, removing one more barrier to educational access.
- Boosting Confidence: The Carolina Panthers sponsored back-to-school haircuts, helping students feel confident and ready to start the year strong.
These efforts represent more than just material support—they send a powerful message to children and families that their community believes in their potential and wants to see them succeed.
Looking Forward
As we support students through another school year, our commitment to our mission is stronger than ever. We believe that by partnering with families to provide safe, stable, affordable housing, we’re not just providing shelter—we’re investing in children’s futures, breaking cycles of instability, and strengthening our entire community.
The generosity shown by our donors, partners, and volunteers this back-to-school season reminds us that Charlotte is a community that cares. Together, we can ensure that every child has the stable foundation they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
References:
¹ Priester, Mary Ann. “The Rising Challenge of Student Homelessness.” Mecklenburg County Community Support Services Blog.
² Moore, Eric, Ph.D. “New research shows stable housing may lead to positive educational outcomes.” Charlotte Urban Institute, December 11, 2024.
